Electromagnetic therapeutic-compress-heating appliance



1,624,397 Aprll 12, 1927. v DEQUER ELECTROMAGNETIC THERAPEUTIC COMPRESS HEATING APPLIANCE Filed Dec. 15, 1925 mm J efvbi Hey aver.

w @flaai I w (l Mommy Patented Apr. 12, 1927.

UNITED STATES JOHN H. DEQUER, F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

ELECTROMAGNETIC THERAPEU'IIG-COMPRESS-HEATING APPLIANCE.

Application filed December 15, 1925.

This invention relates to electromagnetic therapeutic compress heating appliances.

It is understood that in many cases of local pain, swelling and congestion, as well as in analogous classes of emergency, it is highly desirable to apply a compress locally to the portion of the human body affected, and while sometimes this may be a hot compress, at other times a hot compress may be applied alternately with a cooler one.

At any event, in the application of such compresses, there is required almost the constant attention of a nurse or attendant, the attendant is required to replace a cooledoff compress with a hotter one at frequent intervals, so that much time is taken up from other duties in wringing out the cooled off compresses in hot water, for the application of the hot compresses.

One of the primary objects of my improvements has been to devise a simple and effective pad-like metallic heating appliance, which may be facilely applied to a wet coinpress for maintaining the same substantially at a constantly uniform heat, and which may be readily removed as desired to allow the compress to become cold, or applied to the cold compress to heat the same up, without the necessity of'wringing out the compressin hot water to raise its heat to the desired degree.

I have also found that by the establishing of a rather intense magnetic field or fields, in the zone of the compress, such auxiliary vibratory magnetic treatment has a very soothing and curative effect, especially in the case of colic from whatever source, as well as in cases of congestion such as exist in pneumonia, or analogous conditions, and in various other instances of local pains, swellings and congestions from numerous causes.

A further object of my improvements, therefore, has been to devise such an appliance that the heating medium thereof additionally 4 functions to establish a rather intense vibratory magnetic field or fields substantially covering or encompassing the entire heating zone, and thus coacting with the moderated heat generated, for soothing and otherwise beneficial efiec'ts.

In the accomplishment of the foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention, all of which will more fully appear as incidental to the following disclosure, the improvements broadly embody a pad-like shallow metallic casing that Serial No. 75,567.

houses suitably coiled and mounted insulated wiring, functioning primarily as a moderated heating agency, for local application to the body of a patient through an interposed compress, and which coiled wiring additionally functions as a means for establishing an intensive magnetic field or fields, at such locally applied position, when a suit ably stepped-down alternating current is caused to fiow therearound.

With these general outlining remarks, although various features in detail will here inafter appear, reference will now be immediately had to the accompanying drawings, illustrating a practical embodiment of the improvements, in which drawings Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of one form of coiled wiring which may be employed with the appliance; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the appliance with its upper wall removed; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view, partly in elevation, taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Figure 2; and Figure l is a cross-sectional view taken locally through one of the coils, and showing the means for mounting the same within the heater casing or housing.

The numerals 5 and 6 respectively desig nate relatively thin top and bottom walls of a shallow metallic casing or housing, which walls are preferably in the nature of diaphragmatic circular discs, although they may be of other shapes than circular, and may have their peripheral edge portions inturned in the form of marginal spacing rims 7 and 8, adapted for snug seating relation as indicated at 9. 1

This casing is adapted to house suitably disposed coiled insulated wiring, in the form of a multi-strand fine cable of soft copper wires so mounted as to function both as a moderated heating means and as a means for establishing an intensive magnetic field or fields, as has hereinbefore been stated and which featuresv will hereinafter more fully appear as to details, and for the facile handling of this metallic pad-like electromagnetic heater, the same is preferably equipped with a handle unit that is flexibly mounted in resilient connection with said casing, being adapted to additionally function as a junction conduit, providing a control switch, for housing the circuit wires connecting said coiled wiring of the device with the line wires of an outside alternating current source, such as the usual house lighting circuit, with substantial resistance means interposed in the circuit, for stepping down' the alternating current, and which resistance means preferably embody the coils of an 5 improved typeofelectromagnetic blanket,

For the secure attachment of this handle unit, a complementary pair of recesses may .beIf rmed'in the rims 7, and 8 ofthe casing, at the positions indiCMcdat l0; for the reception of the hollow open-endedshank,lug pnnipple 11 0f; a cast metal support, the lowenportion of whichmay be formedwith olfset inwardly projected seating} base 112-, for soldering or otherwise securing to thenills lde, face of' the bottom wall 6 of the casing, and ,the outer portion of which nipple may be formed witha shoulder and a; reduced peripherallygrooved end 13, for snugly v seating the inner end coil or coils ofia substantially stiff; elongated coil spring .ll. ,The outerend coil or coils ofthe spring ,14; are;. .ana1ogously attached to. and firmly .supported by the inner end of a standard snap.;switch casing 15, 'the specific means shown for this support being a tubular element 16 embedded in that end of the switch ,casing, and the outer end of said switch;

. casing analogously mounts the inner end of ,aasecond substantially stitl' coil spring 17, theouter end of-which latter maybe provided witha'fibre bushing 18; Through this. junction conduit handle unit passed ,a short lamp cord extension 19, in circuit ,with the switching elements of the electric .snap switch casing 15, the inner ends of which lamp cord connection are adapted to dbe1connected in circuit with the coiledwir- ,,ing of the heater device, and the outer ends of which lamp cord connection. carry the female element 20 of a plug socket connec- ,.tor, adaptedfor plugging in with the coils .,of said improved type of blanket, as the resistance means,v although the device could be employed with other types of blankets, .or even with other forms of resistance means interposed in the circuit.

Asa matter of broad principle it may be that the-coiled wiring of the heater device could bearrranged as a single continuous coil, especially if its convolutions were coni cally wound, orasseveral coils indifferent ;arrangement than as actually shown, al-

, thoughasa matter of preferred structure ,1, havefound it most desirable to provide a central coil encompassed by an auxiliary series of individual coils, in a multi-coil arrangenient and whether or not these indishown in the-drawings, siinply.-by.,wayiof general illustration, some ofxthel successive auxiliarycoils may be woundinthesame direction relatively to-each other while other of the successive auxiliary. .coils umilyi :be wound in an opposite direction irelatinely thereto, butin'the same direction: asithe central coil.

Following this latter I arrangement, .1.the drawings show successive--auxiliary .coils' 21, 22, 23 and 24 as being wound to theiright, or in a clockwisefldirection, whiletlielarger central coil and the-remaining:successive auxiliary coils 26 and 27' aretshown asbeing wound to the left, orin acounterqclockwise direction. Furthermore, in ithe :drawings, the central coilflfi is ishowniasyheing. interposed between the auxiliary coils. 12st and 26, with the auxiliary coil 27 at the, @endof the series, but obviously the coil :27 couldwbe directlyconnected with the coil 1 24,1. and, the central coil disposedat the endsofi the series, for direct connection with oneiof ithe lamp cordwires 19, instead ofrasiactually shown, the other lamp .cordwire-dicing connected with the coil 21.

It is to be particularly noted :that lprcfer to =form these coils witln a dual winding, for intensifying the magnetic effect, that is to say that-a SllOItulc11gtl1v28--.-Of thevzinsulated wiring is a single cable of fine, copper strands, covered with insulation,- connected with a longerlength QSJothereofimthe form of a doublecableot analogous texture.

The connection between thcsc.,-single,and double ables of the =individual-1coils, as-indicated at 30-of Figure 1,,-as ,well, ;as the connections 31 between the cables of -the successive coils, are preferably; i made by twist- 1 ing together i the exposedncomplementary ends of thestrands of-the cables, for a-short distance. and applying in bindingsolder to -=these twisted together ends,- for encompassing the same as an embedding coating, whereby so-called cool connectionsare made, or ones-that do not; become overheated or disconnected. These connections ,may i be covered-with insulating; tape,; as indicated at 32 of Figure 2, and the same form of 1 connections may also be made between the free ends of the terminal coils of the series and the lamp cord wires 19, as indicated at 33.

In this multi-coil arrangement, the insulated wiring is separately wound around metallic spools 34 having a tubular iron core 35, functioning electromagnets, the ends of the cables being complementally connected together thereafter as before de scribed, and these magnet spools may be supported within the heater casing in any suitable way. However, as the coils are separately wound around their respective sup porting spools, and thereafter connected in circuit, it is preferable to detachably mount the same Within the heater casing.

To this end, the spools of the coils 21, 22, 23, 24 and 27 are shown as being detachably mounted on the bottom 6 of the casing by means of inverted bent springs 36, having their base or apex soldered to said bottom, as at 37 Figure 4, or otherwise secured thereto, the upstanding arms of said springs being adapted to project up through the tubular core 35, of its complementary magnet spool, with either or both of said upstanding arms terminating with a hooked end for clasping over the upper edge of the core. The spool of the central coil and of the auxiliary coil 26, however, show another means of mounting the spools, in corijointly supported relation, by means of the arms 38, the spring element 36 being adapted for projection up within the tubular core of the coil 26, as heretofore described, and the tubular core of the central spool being firmly held and centered between the top and bottom walls of the heater casing, by means of the axially disposed binding screw 39, which securely holds the upper and lower sections of the heater casing in assembled relation. As a matter of fact, all of the auxiliary spools may be mounted in substantially the same manner by means of a framework having radiating or spider-like arms carrying the springs 36 for holding the spools in properly spaced relation and as detachably mounted, and the central portions of the top and bottom walls of the casing may be formed with inward depressions, not appearing in the views, forming projections extending into the ends of the tubular core of the central spool, as centering studs therefor.

From all of the foregoing it is believed that the novel features, functioning and advantages of the improvements will be fully apparent, but while I have thus set forth the preferred structures, as they now occur to me, it will nevertheless be obvious that some alterations could be made, without departing from the spirit of the invention. and accordingly it is to be understood that I do not wish to unnecessarily restrict myself to all of the details exactly as disclosed, excepting as they may come within the terms of the claims, or the equivalent of their elements and combinations thereof, or as fairly interpreted in ,the light of the specification if necessary.

hat I do claim, new and patentable,

1. 1n therapeutic compress heating appli ances, the combination of a shallow casing embodying spaced top and bottom walls, coiled insulated wiring so housed within said casing as to provide for establishing an electromagnetic heating zone entirely and uniformly therearound, a junction conduit handle unit for said casing in open communication therewith, and electrical circuit leads extending from the terminal ends of said coiled wiring and through said handle unit to the exterior of said casing.

2. In therapeutic compress heating appliances, the combination of a shallow casing embodying spaced top and bottom walls, coiled insulated wiring so housed within said casing as to provide for establishing an electromagnetic heating zone entirely and uniformly therearound, a junction conduit handle unit for said casing that embodies coiled spring means as a part thereof and is in open communication with said casing, and electrical circuit leads extending from the terminal ends of said coiled wiring and through said handle unit to the exterior of said casing.

3. In therapeutic compress heating appliances, the combination of a shallow casing embodying spaced top and bottom walls, coiled insulated wiring so housed within said casing as to provide for establishing an electromagnetic heating zone entirely and uniformly therearound, a junction conduit handle unit for said casing that embodies a pair of coiled springs with an interposed electrical switch as elements thereof, the said handle unit being in open communication with said casing, and electrical leads extending from the terminal ends of said coiled wiring and through said handle unit, in circuit with said switch, to the exterior of said casing.

4. In therapeutic compress heating appliances, the combination of a shallow closed pan-like casing embodying spaced top and bottom walls, coiled insulated wiring so housed and mounted within said casing as to provide for establishing an electromagnetic heating zone entirely and uniformly therearound, which arrangement embodies a central coil and auxiliary encompassing coils individually wound around separated spools of magnetic material, the said coils being connected in series, and electrical circuit leads extending from the free ends of the terminal coils of the series to the exterior of the casing.

mo I

of magnetic materiel, the said coils being connected in series and some of said auxilizi 'yicoilslgeing ound in i1 directionopposi-te to the direction of winding of saidcentral coil, to provide formagiietic fields ofopposed polarity, and electrical circnit lea ds extending from tlie ma mas of the terminal coils of the series to tl e exterior'of tl e' 'c'iisng.

I In testimony whereof, I afiix lnv signature. 20

JO N H- P QUTEB- 

